Dark Angel
by EcoSeeker247
Summary: Whenever Daniel thought of the Shadow, he always pictured a living nightmare that broke down reality and would be the death of him. The Guardian of the Orb, however, saw itself in a completely different light, and only wished that Daniel would do the same as it silently followed him wherever he went. A collection of stories detailing the Shadow's complex relationship with Daniel.
1. I - Awakened

All right! So this is another idea I had for an "Amnesia: The Dark Descent" fanfiction. I've always been very interested in how the Shadow viewed Daniel and how it might have "felt" about some of the things that happened before and during the game, so I've decided to write a multi-chapter story about my take on specific moments from the Loading Screens and Daniel's journal. I hope you guys enjoy this, and let me know what you think! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Everything belongs to Frictional Games.

**WARNING: **There will be spoilers from _The Dark Descent _throughout this story.

* * *

"_Moving that Orb was like pushing a star in the night sky. It wasn't supposed to happen. The Shadow isn't some vengeful spirit; it is the universe catching up with itself." _

* * *

**PART ONE**

Many centuries have passed since the Guardian of the Orbs was last awake, traveling around the world as it safeguarded the very relics it was named for. Nobody was quite sure what the Orbs did or why they existed, although there were rumors that the mysterious artifacts were connected to the ancient religion of Mithraism. Nevertheless, they were powerful enough to be revered by kings and priests alike, often being viewed as symbols of the sun.

Like with anything else that contained a large amount of power, there were two kinds of people: those who sought to wield the Orbs for their own purposes, and those who simply wished to study them, having no interest in using them for personal gain. More often than not, there was an equal amount of both, and the Guardian did whatever it could to keep everything in balance, and more importantly, help the universe maintain its order.

But with these categories of people also came exceptions, which the entity was about to discover much later in its time. It was in the nineteenth century that it would encounter someone who didn't quite fit in either group, and that it would have to keep its eye on a little more closely in order to see what would happen next.

And that someone was a young archaeologist from London named Daniel.

* * *

_**May 17**__**th**__**, 1839…**_

A cool breeze blew through the tomb, a welcome relief from the scorching heat outside as the Guardian relaxed, continuing to sleep like it had been for the last couple of centuries. After making its rounds in Europe, it decided to change its course and watch over the Orbs located in Africa, ready to take action on the off chance that somebody tried to misuse the artifacts. So far, nobody had shown up, and the Guardian preferred to keep it that way.

Until that fateful day a group of explorers uncovered the tomb.

The Guardian was still sleeping as the room began to shake as if there was an earthquake, which was followed by loud voices as the large stone serving as the entrance to the tomb slammed to the ground. A mix of both Arabic and English filled the air as frantic voices yelled and screamed at each other, trying to make sense of what had just happened and why.

Eventually, the ground stopped shaking, and the only sound left was one man still yelling at the top of his lungs. "Help!" he cried, pounding on the slab of stone that had fallen down and trapped him inside the tomb.

"Hey!" he screamed, "Somebody! Anybody! Help!" He continued to throw all his weight into the stone, hoping it would budge and allow him to escape, but to no avail. After what felt like an eternity of pounding the stone with his fist, a sweat broke out on his forehead as his body began to grow weak from the steady decline in oxygen. He now felt like he was going to throw up from the sudden change in temperature, and he slumped to the ground as he tried to calm himself down, hugging himself as his eyelids grew heavy.

"Why does it have to be so _dark _in here?" he groaned under his breath, his nyctophobia kicking in almost immediately. He found himself grinding his teeth together out of habit, and he could feel his heart begin to beat a little faster and his breathing pick up, but he forced himself to keep it together. He couldn't afford to use up any remaining oxygen if he was going to be stuck in this place.

Once he managed to get his bearings straight again, he picked himself up and took a couple of steps forward…only to find himself falling again as the ground crumbled underneath him, causing him to land on the steps in front of him. A cloud of dust kicked up all around him, though he couldn't see it, but it was when he picked his head up again that he finally noticed something odd in the distance.

Up ahead was a shimmering blue light that he hadn't seen when he first got trapped in here, and he wondered what it was as it suddenly seemed to appear out of nowhere. He could have sworn he heard whispering all around him as he slowly stood up and brushed himself off again, taking careful steps as he used the light in order to see where he was going. He tucked a lock of brown hair behind his ear as he inched closer and closer, the whispering getting louder as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He was running out of oxygen, but he didn't care. All he could focus on was the mysterious light, which grew brighter as he spotted some sort of pillar below it.

"What's this?"he asked himself as he finally saw what was giving off such a radiant glow: a mysterious, round orb that looked like it was big enough to fit in his hands if he cupped them together. It was light blue in color, almost bordering on white, and it was so bright that he felt his eyes well up with tears, forcing him to look away a few times. He had never seen anything like it before: after burying himself in various books and taking a job at the British Museum, he thought he knew everything about the ancient world, and the artifacts it left behind, but this one was a mystery.

The longer he stared at the Orb, the more he felt drawn to it, and he didn't think twice before reaching out and gently picking up the relic.

What happened next was like something out of a dream, and for a few minutes, the young man couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't as the burial chamber became flooded with light. He began to feel lightheaded as strange images flashed in front of him: spiraling towers taller than anything he'd ever seen in London, vast deserts that reminded him of the ones in Africa, and impossible geometry that he couldn't make heads or tails of. He had never seen anything like this before, and he wondered what it all meant and why he was seeing it.

Just as the images intensified, he suddenly heard a loud _crash_ as the light disappeared, and another wave of sickness hit his stomach as he collapsed in front of the pillar. A sweat broke out on his forehead, and he struggled to keep his eyes open just as he heard the sound of shuffling rocks. Was the tomb caving in now because he had picked up the Orb? Had that been the only thing keeping the structure from collapsing? He wasn't sure, but he held his breath as he waited for the end to come.

"Almost there! Just keep digging a little further!"

_That voice, _he thought as he tried to sit up straight again, _It can't be…_

More rocks tumbled close to him, and when he squinted his eyes, he could see a little bit of light poking through a hole up ahead, along with silhouettes of men. Another voice shouted something in Arabic as a group of men stepped into the tomb, being careful not to trip and fall on each other.

"Daniel! Daniel, are you all right? Can you hear me?"

_Herbert! _Daniel thought to himself in relief, though he was still too tired to speak. All he could do was groan as he flipped himself onto his back.

"Get him out of here and back to camp," Herbert ordered, and the group of men accompanying him grabbed Daniel by the arms and began to carry him out of the tomb, ignoring the fact that the young archaeologist was now carrying the broken pieces of the Orb he had picked up earlier. Nobody cared much about that, as all they could focus on was making sure Daniel was safe and sound before continuing the expedition.

Although nobody knew it, the moment Daniel and the broken Orb left the chamber was the moment that the Guardian of the Orb awakened for the first time in centuries.


	2. I - Marked

All right! Here we go with the next chapter of "Dark Angel"! Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, and alerted this story! I appreciate it! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only two of the characters, Salim and Amar, are mine. Everything else belongs to Frictional Games.

* * *

Something was wrong.

The Guardian could sense a disturbance in the air as it stirred, waking up for the first time in a long time as it took in the darkness surrounding it. It felt strange to be awake at first, but the Shadow was excellent at adapting quickly, and eventually, it seemed as if it had only slept for a day.

On the other hand, that foreboding sensation it had been experiencing grew stronger as it made its way through the burial chamber and over to the pillar that the Orb rested on.

Only…there was no Orb there anymore.

At this realization, the cosmic guardian let out a loud, terrifying shriek as it quickly swept the rest of the antechamber, desperately searching for the relic it was supposed to be safeguarding. While it did that, it spotted the path that the expedition had carved out earlier and decided to follow it, tracing the stray rocks and the few drops of blood that covered the floor to the exit.

It had been a long time since the Guardian saw the outside world, but it was willing to take that chance in order to recover the Orb, and more importantly, find whoever had touched it in the first place. After many hours of searching, the Guardian picked up its pace a little bit as the sun began to set, bringing a welcome change in temperature and allowing it to move more freely.

Not too long after leaving the tomb, the entity had spotted a lone caravan traveling in the desert, and suspicious, it decided to sluggishly follow in its path, wondering if the person who had taken the Orb was in there. Unfortunately, it had lost track of it when a particularly fierce sand storm blew through the area, but that didn't deter it in the slightest.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the camp, Daniel shifted in his sleep before finally blinking and opening his eyes, rubbing some sleep out of them as he sat up straight on the cot he had been lying on. The last thing he remembered was nearly fainting in the tomb as Herbert and his men managed to rescue him. He reached up and pulled a wet cloth off his head, twisting it in his hands just to have something to do in order to calm his nerves.

Herbert was sitting on another cot in the corner, hastily scribbling something in his journal as a frown crossed his face. Daniel wondered what was on his mind, but before he could ask, he glanced up and sighed as he spotted that ridiculous parasol Herbert had forced him to use when they first arrived in the desert. Once again, it was being used to block out the little bit of sunlight that seeped through the tent, and Daniel just shook his head.

"You really are determined to make me the shame of Algeria, aren't you?" he croaked in a half-joking, half-serious manner.

Herbert shut his journal, chuckling as soon as he heard his research assistant's voice. "Good to have you back with us, Daniel," he replied, standing up and approaching the younger man, "How are you feeling?"

"Like I have the mother of all headaches," Daniel groaned as he felt another wave of pain, "But I'll be all right. It's all my fault, though. I shouldn't have forced the others to keep traveling deeper into the tomb. They had a bad feeling about the whole place and I didn't listen to them."

"Nonsense!" Herbert barked, "You mustn't blame yourself for the accident. You couldn't have possibly known what would happen. Besides, we don't have time for superstitious tales on this expedition. They should have known that when they agreed to join us."

"I guess so," Daniel sighed as he closed his eyes and allowed the cool breeze to blow across his face.

"That being said," Herbert continued, "I don't think it would be wise for you to stay here, Daniel. Not in your current condition. Abdullah and I have arranged for you to return to Algiers tomorrow morning, where you will board a ship back to London."

Daniel's heart sank, and he tried not to let his disappointment show on his face. Going to Algeria was the first time he had ever traveled outside of England. Being a self-proclaimed explorer, he had been excited to get out into the world and see what other continents had to offer, and now that Herbert was forcing him to go home…

"What about the expedition?" he asked, "I thought you brought me along to be your research assistant."

"It will go on as planned, of course," Herbert answered, waving his hand dismissively, "Abdullah and the others are more than capable of making sure things go smoothly in your absence."

But Daniel refused to give up that easily. "I promise that nothing like this will ever happen again," he insisted, "All I need is some extra sleep and then I should be fine by morning-"

"I will not risk your life by keeping you here, Daniel," Herbert interrupted him, "Nor will I risk forfeiting this entire expedition. You are going back to London, and that's final."

And before Daniel could protest further, the professor turned and exited the tent, sealing the flap behind him as he stepped out into the sunset once more. He glanced around at some of the other tents as he moved his fingers to the pistol he always kept with him just in case anything went wrong. He doubted he would need it, but he was the type to make sure everything went according to plan. He had come too far to just throw all that away, and getting Daniel out of Africa would allow him to find what he was looking for without someone asking him a bunch of questions.

Just as he was about to cross over to the tent that Abdullah was in, Herbert suddenly heard a distant growl, causing him to pause as he turned in the direction it was coming from. Out of instinct, his hand flew back to his pistol again, though he couldn't see anything that could have produced such a horrible noise.

_What was that? _he silently asked himself_._ He listened for the growl again, but he didn't hear it anymore, which made him a little more nervous as he hurried to Abdullah's tent and asked him and some of the others to do a quick sweep of the area. He would not be left unguarded in a place that he was not familiar with, and it was better to be safe than sorry.

_Perhaps it was a distant lion, _he thought, squinting his eyes as he tried to see if he could spot one prowling around. But he couldn't, and he realized that all he could do now was wait for Abdullah and the others to return with their verdict.

He was sure they would say the same thing: that it was only a lion, and that they would make sure it didn't try to attack the camp.

But deep down inside, Herbert had a bad feeling that it was something else.

* * *

_**Later on that night…**_

Now that the sun had officially set, the Guardian's vision increased in strength, allowing everything to become clearer as it managed to find the path the caravan had taken earlier. Although there were no more tracks from it after the afternoon's fierce sand storm, it could still sense that it had been there.

Eventually, the entity came across a group of white tents, some shrouded in darkness while others were lit with lanterns. Three men were still awake, patrolling the camp grounds before they rested for the night. Although they were whispering to each other in Arabic, the Guardian could still understand everything they were saying.

"I suppose we can tell Professor Herbert that there's nothing out here," one of them, Amar, announced as he refilled his lantern with more oil.

"So what could have made that noise?" another one, Salim, asked as he faced his other friend, "Any ideas, Abdullah?"

Abdullah shook his head. "I don't know," he said, "But I've been having bad feelings about this whole expedition even before Daniel got trapped in the tomb. The whole time he was forcing us to keep going in the chamber, I kept getting this feeling like…like we shouldn't have been there."

Amar sighed. "I know what you mean. I felt the same way, but you see that everything turned out all right. We were able to rescue Daniel with no other incidents, so maybe there's nothing to be paranoid about."

"Maybe," Abdullah echoed, though his voice was still tinged with uncertainty, "Come on, let's go back."

The Guardian watched in silence as the three of them turned and went back to the camp, hurrying their footsteps so that they could get out of the darkness. Once they were gone, it remained where it was, contemplating what they had just been talking about as it surveyed the rest of the tents in the area.

So a man named Daniel had gotten himself trapped in the tomb? And nobody else in his group had been stuck with him? That could only mean one thing…

He must have been the one who had taken the Orb from the burial chamber!

Feeling invigorated, the Guardian began to search every tent for the Orb, being careful not to alert the men of its presence. That was all it wanted, really: to reclaim the relic it was supposed to protect. It wasn't there to bring harm to anyone, unless somebody intended to misuse it.

After checking two of the lit tents, the Shadow entered one that was dark, and it was in this one where it found Daniel at last. The young man, who looked to be in his early to mid twenties, was sleeping fitfully, tossing and turning on his cot as a sweat broke out on his forehead. His chin length, dark brown hair was plastered to his face as he tried to curl up in the blanket that was covering him, and although humans would not be able to see it, there was a dark red slash on the nape of Daniel's neck. It was the mark of the Guardian, which removed any previous doubts it might have had before, as did the fact that the broken pieces of the Orb were poking out of Daniel's bag.

For a second, the Guardian was incensed: why had Daniel been so careless with such a precious artifact? Why had he even taken it in the first place?

Unless…had he touched it because he thought that was the only way out of the tomb, and ended up breaking it by accident? Did he even know what the Orb was or what it was supposed to do? For the first time in centuries, the Shadow found itself questioning everything, despite the fact that it was usually good at reading people and their intentions. _Something_ was different about Daniel, and it was determined to find out what made him stand out from all the others.

Before it could dwell on these questions any further, the flap to the tent suddenly opened, and the Guardian watched as another man made his way inside. Judging by the way he carried himself, it could only guess that he was the professor Abdullah, Salim, and Amar had been talking about earlier.

The Shadow watched with curiosity as Herbert made his way over to Daniel's bag, but that curiosity soon turned to anger when it saw him reach for the Orb pieces. There was a flash of greed in his eyes, which disappeared almost as quickly as it had come as he simply rewrapped them in cloth and stuffed the whole package further into Daniel's bag. The whole time he did this, Herbert figured his assistant could have the broken one; it wouldn't be worth much like that.

As soon as he finished hiding the Orb pieces, the Guardian suddenly felt a strong force pull it out of the tent and kick it back across the desert, sending it through a minor sand storm as it ended up close to the burial chamber once more. Once it got its bearings again, it let out another loud, ear-splitting shriek at the thought of someone trying to keep the Orb out of its sight, especially someone like Professor Herbert. There was a darkness in his heart that the Guardian didn't see in Daniel, which made it worry that the professor would try and influence the young archaeologist to misuse the relic, broken pieces and all.

And although Herbert himself would never know it, he had now been officially marked as well.


	3. I - Warned

All right! Next chapter of "Dark Angel" is here! Thank you again to everyone who's been reading, reviewing, favoriting, and alerting this story! I really appreciate it and I should be getting back to regular updates for this story! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Salim and Amar are mine. Everything else belongs to Frictional Games.

* * *

_**The next morning…**_

"Why can't you all dig any bloody faster?" Herbert growled, his impatience rising as Abdullah, Salim, Amar, and the others began to grow tired from working in the hot sun for hours. There was no easy way to get into the Tomb of Tin Hanan, forcing them to try and find a way in that wouldn't get anyone trapped this time.

"My hand is hurting, sir," Amar complained, clutching his left hand, "I don't think I can do this anymore."

"So use your other hand," Herbert replied in a cold tone of voice, yanking the shovel out of Amar's grip and placing it in his right hand, "That is why you have two, is it not?"

"His hand is almost swollen, Professor," Salim tried to reason, "You need to let him rest. In fact, we _all _need a break. We haven't had anything to eat or drink since last night."

Herbert glared at him. "There is no time for that. We have already fallen behind schedule thanks to Daniel's incident yesterday, and I refuse to let anything else halt this expedition. Now, let's keep digging! Come on!"

Although a few of the other men were clearly delirious from the heat, hunger, and exhaustion, they still forced themselves to help the ones that weren't feeling as tired. Their stomachs growled loudly, but Herbert paid them no mind as he watched the progress on opening the entrance to the tomb. They were about halfway there, and he wiped some sweat off his forehead as he pulled his hat lower over his eyes, considering himself lucky that he had managed to find not one, but _two _tombs in this expedition alone.

"Why are we doing all this, anyway?" Abdullah suddenly questioned, "First, the other burial chamber, and now this one. These are people's tombs we're trying to dig up! It's not right and we shouldn't be disturbing the dead."

Herbert contemplated this question. He had to admit that he felt a tiny pang of remorse for pushing his men beyond their limits, but he would do whatever it took to get that Orb.

And _this _time, he would make sure it made it out of the burial chamber in one piece.

"I did not send Daniel away to have you take his place, Abdullah," was all he said as Salim and Amar finally managed to dig out an opening that was big enough for everyone to fit through. Grabbing a torch from one of the bags laying on the side, he lit it with a tinderbox and proceeded to lead the way inside, being careful to watch his step so that he wouldn't end up like Daniel. And even if he did somehow, it wasn't like he was afraid of the dark.

Right?

* * *

As the hours passed, the Shadow proceeded to retrace its steps back to the camp, now more desperate than ever to prevent anything else from going wrong. It would have tried again last night, but the fact that the pieces were covered made it a little more difficult to see them. It wasn't sure what it was going to do about them yet, but it would figure that out later.

The Guardian finally found the tents not too long after and made a beeline for the one Daniel was in. To its horror, the young man was gone, as was his bag and other personal belongings. There was no sign of any of the others, either, which put the entity on edge even more than it already was.

Where could Daniel have gone? Why had he left? And more importantly, what was he going to do with the Orb pieces he now carried? It was frustrating not being able to place him in a simple category as it had with other people in the past, but that was why it had to try and catch up to him as soon as possible.

Once it exited the tent, the Guardian decided to expand its senses, tuning in to every sound and sight in its general vicinity. Off in the distance, it could see Daniel traveling by camelback with another man, his bag slung across his body as the Orb pieces rested against each other. From the snippets of conversation it caught, it deduced that Daniel was heading back towards Algiers in order to return to London, and if it was going to try and figure him out, it was going to have to just follow him there.

That was an unusual course of action for the Shadow, it realized; it rarely ever followed someone without violently giving chase, but perhaps now was the time to try something new. Like most cosmic beings, it was not one to willingly change its ways, but these were different times, and Daniel was such a unique case that it looked like it had no choice.

"_Professor Herbert, we need to go back. We shouldn't be in here._"

The Guardian perked up at the new voice it was picking up, and it recognized it as Abdullah's from the other night.

"_You're being superstitious again, Abdullah_," Herbert chided him, "_You needn't worry about anything else going wrong. We have carried out every safety precaution we can think of._"

"_But you're asking us to enter somewhere else we don't belong. I just don't feel comfortable with the situation._"

A few of the others appeared to murmur in agreement, but that didn't stop the Guardian from feeling uneasy all the same.

"_Well, if none of you cowards will go in,_" Herbert spat,"_Then I will. Keep an eye on the door, Salim._"

And a few seconds later, the Shadow felt a crippling pain that spread through its very being, causing it to roar in agony as the skies turned dark around it. Lightning raced through the clouds as a fierce wind blew through the air, kicking up sand and hurling it miles away. The entity continued to roar, a bright, red aura surrounding it as it only had one task in mind: to recover the Orb that had just been removed from its tomb!

The Guardian considered itself to be a patient entity, but it cast all that aside as it felt nothing but rage towards Herbert for what he had done. Letting out another growl, it began to stomp through the sand, sending more grains flying in the air as its footsteps shook the earth. It quickly hid the red aura, choosing instead to use the environment to make its presence known. As it got closer to the Tomb of Tin Hanan, it reached down and heated the ground around it, allowing the warm air to rise and meet the cool air as the wind helped it to begin rotating. The Shadow then scooped up some sand and threw it in the mix, eventually creating two dust devils that were powerful enough to pose a threat, and once it was finished, it sent both of them on their way, watching as Herbert and his men exited the tomb and began heading back to their camp. It could see the Orb as clear as day in the professor's hands, and as it studied the triumphant smirk on his face, it wondered how some humans could be so disrespectful to take something that didn't belong to them.

Well, hopefully, what was about to happen would serve as a warning and convince him to give back the relic.

* * *

The camels were the first to notice something was wrong.

The one Amar was using suddenly stopped in its tracks, tilting its head towards the sky as it began to bay loudly.

"What is it?" the young man asked, "What's wrong?"

But the camel continued to bay, sounding more and more frantic as the others joined in.

"Stop that!" Herbert snapped, pulling the reins on the camel he was riding on, "Quiet down, will you?"

With one last cry, the camel suddenly kicked its hind legs back, sending Herbert tumbling to the ground as it took off across the desert. That was when large, ominous clouds arrived and blocked out the sun, as well as when everyone glanced straight ahead and saw two violent dust devils making a beeline for them.

"Everyone, back to camp!" Herbert cried, and the others quickly steered their camels out of the way of the flying sand. Abdullah stayed behind to help Herbert, who was trying to grab his hand while simultaneously reaching for the Orb. The Guardian watched this with increasing anger, which caused it to send the more dangerous of the two dust devils in his direction.

"Leave it, Professor!" Abdullah shouted over the wind, "It's not worth risking your life over!"

But Herbert ignored him as he managed to scoop up the sphere in his hand, climbing onto the camel as he narrowly missed getting caught in the whirlwind. The two of them hurried to catch up with the others, though they quickly realized that the dust devils were strangely moving a lot faster than normal.

"Amar!" Salim cried as the Shadow used one of the dust devils to pick up Amar and carry him away in the wind, only to violently toss him to the ground a few seconds later. He fell unconscious as his camel turned and fled, and before the cosmic guardian could do anymore damage, Salim hurried over to help him, lifting him up and helping to carry him back to camp.

"AHH!" a few of the men on the other side screamed as the other dust devil plowed through the small group that had huddled together, scattering them around as they sustained injuries from falling off their camels. Some broke their noses while others twisted their ankles, dislocated their shoulders, and hit the ground hard enough to allow bruises to develop. Those who weren't injured as badly stopped to help them as they continued to flee from these terrifying storms, unable to comprehend what was happening and why it was happening. Dust devils were not supposed to target specific people.

Were they?

"We're almost there!" Herbert yelled, "Just keep moving!"

Although they were panicking even more now, the men eventually made it back to the camp, and the entity decided to call off the dust devils, sending bursts of cooler air through the columns of sand and allowing them to dissipate in seconds. The dark clouds also disappeared, exposing the bright sun and blue skies as the Guardian surveyed the damage it had caused. It had injured nearly everyone in the group except for Herbert and Abdullah, and that was the way it was supposed to be. The Shadow had barely scratched the surface of what it could do, and it hoped that it wouldn't have to resort to killing anybody to get its point across.

In the meantime, it watched as some of the men caught their breath and immediately began tending to their injuries, congregating in the biggest tent so that they could all be together. Out of the men that were hurt, only Salim escaped with minor cuts and bruises, so he dedicated himself to helping the others dress their wounds. Amar still wasn't awake, which made everyone worry for his life as Abdullah placed a wet cloth over his forehead and checked to make sure he hadn't broken his neck when he fell. Fortunately, his neck was still intact.

"Those storms," Salim spoke up, breaking the silence, "Were they the ones the Egyptians call _fasset el 'afreet_?"

Abdullah nodded. "Ghost's wind," he echoed, "Yes. But I've never seen ones like those two before. Normally, they are harmless. Or so I thought."

"I agree with Abdullah," one of the men with a dislocated shoulder piped up, "Something didn't feel natural about those winds. It seemed like they were specifically targeting us, which leads me to believe that we made somebody very angry."

Before they could continue to try and make sense of what they had just been through, the flap to the tent opened, and Herbert quickly made his way inside. "Is everyone all right?" he asked.

Some of the others nodded their heads, raising their hands to the bandages around their broken limbs. However, Salim couldn't help but feel a pang of resentment towards the professor, seeing as how he hadn't cared when they were exhausted and starving earlier. Why was he so concerned now? "Amar is still unconscious, but alive," he reported, "I can feel a very faint pulse in his neck."

Herbert nodded, reaching for a cloth from the corner of the tent and tucking it under his arm. "What's that for?" one of the other man asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The Orb," the professor explained, "So that we can carry it around much easier." The others gasped and glanced at each other, and the Guardian growled quietly enough so that they wouldn't hear it.

"We could have been killed today!" Abdullah cried, "And you're still obsessed with that relic? It wasn't worth putting all of us at risk, Professor!"

"But you all are still alive, aren't you?" Herbert asked, "We are not in danger anymore, so I say there's nothing to worry about. We are a resilient group, and we will continue to be as such. Now, everybody get some rest until we figure out what we're going to do next."

And with that, he turned and walked back out into the desert, leaving the others to glance at each other and shake their heads. The Guardian also watched this, angered that Herbert didn't seem to understand why things had happened the way they had. It was clear he didn't believe in anything that was supernatural, and the entity knew that it was going to have to take more drastic measures to reclaim what belonged to it.

No matter what, it would make him see.

* * *

That night, Professor Herbert was plagued with dreams.

After Abdullah and Salim confirmed that there was nothing dangerous in their vicinity, he had decided to turn in for the night, turning off his lantern and laying down on his cot to sleep. Although the temperatures had dropped, he felt strangely colder than usual, and he pulled his blanket up to his chin as he curled up.

A few minutes after Herbert fell asleep, he found himself wandering around in a pitch-black void, an eerie, squishy sound reaching his ears as he tried to look for the source of the noise. However, he couldn't see anything, and when he tried to will himself to wake up, he found that he couldn't.

Suddenly, a burst of bright, red light surrounded him, and he gasped as he heard an ear-piercing roar. Horrified, he turned and ran, only to end up in complete darkness again. The light died down, along with the other sounds as he caught his breath.

"_Herbert_."

Herbert jumped as he heard an unfamiliar voice calling out to him. It was a most horrifying sound: a metallic, low-pitched hum that echoed all around him, rising in pitch the louder it got and culminating in another inhuman shriek.

"Who's there?" he cried, "Show yourself!"

But nobody showed up, except for the voice that had addressed him.

"_You have taken something that does not belong to you, Herbert,_" the voice continued, "_Your men have tried to reason with you, yet you refuse to listen to them. Just as you refused to heed my warnings._"

"What…what is this nonsense?" Herbert snapped.

"_I've looked into your heart, and I see what kind of person you are. You care very little for the people around you. You are fueled by greed and selfishness. But, I am a patient being, and although I could just take back what's mine at any time, I would rather see if someone like you can have it in you to correct your mistake and redeem yourself._"

"I don't know what you mean!"

Suddenly, the void shook all around him, and he steadied himself as the voice told him one last thing before he woke up.

"_Consider this my second warning, Herbert. Give back the Orb you have taken from me or I will make you and your men suffer. Do not make me have to visit you again._"


	4. I - Reclaimed

All right! Here we go with the next chapter of "Dark Angel"! Sorry this took so long, but thank you to everyone who's been reading, reviewing, favoriting, and alerting this story all the same. To make up for the huge gap in updating, here's a nice, long chapter! :)

**GUEST REVIEW CORNER:**

**Soto- **Thank you for your review on "Not Like Them"! I see what you're saying about where Daniel might have lived in his childhood. The game wasn't really clear about that, so I always assumed Daniel lived in Mayfair his whole life because he said he lived there at the beginning of the game. I think it was just that his sister was at the hospice in Canterbury and he only went there to visit her. Thanks for your input all the same, though. :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Malik, Salim, Amar, and Ahmed are mine. Everything else belongs to Frictional Games.

* * *

Never before had the Shadow seen such a chaotic group of men…until now.

It had been one day since it gave its second warning to Herbert in his dreams, but unfortunately, it didn't seem like he was taking it seriously at all. He merely remained calm, staring at the Orb for hours on end as his men became increasingly frantic over the strange events occurring all around them. The Guardian's mere presence was enough to make the winds a little harsher, the temperature difference more noticeable, and the darkness a little more frightening than usual.

But Herbert never took notice of any of that. In fact, it was nearly impossible to pull him away from the Orb period. He hadn't told any of the others about his disturbing dream, merely dismissing it as a combination of eating too much the night before and allowing the others to influence his thoughts.

He would never let that happen again.

"You know the drill," Herbert said to Salim and four of the others who didn't have serious injuries from the previous day's incident, "It's time to check and make sure the camp is safe before we go to sleep."

The rest of the men glanced at each other warily, but reluctantly grabbed their lanterns anyway as they sighed and exited the tent. A draft of cool air found its way inside, making Herbert shiver as he rested the Orb at his feet. For some reason, he was expecting it to actually _do _something, but so far, it stayed the same, light blue color as it continued to glow slightly. What sort of powers did it have? Now that he was in possession of it, he decided to dedicate himself to figuring out its origins, as well as how much it might be worth back at home.

"May I see that Orb, Professor?" Amar asked from his cot as he struggled to sit up. Fortunately, he had finally regained consciousness earlier that day, though he was still in a lot of pain.

From outside, the Guardian froze, shaking with anger like it had been for the past couple of days. Did these men think that they could just pass around the relic like it was nothing? Given the way Herbert had been smug about taking it from the burial chamber in the first place, this shouldn't have come as a surprise, though it still wished that they would at least give the Orb the respect it deserved. Amar didn't seem like a bad person, though; just like with Daniel, the Shadow didn't see any darkness in him, either, but it still exercised caution.

"No, you may not," Herbert answered sharply, "I'm the one who found it. I should be the one who holds on to it."

Amar frowned, his head pounding as he felt the muscles in his neck grow stiff. "But you've been staring at it all day. Almost as if you were being hypnotized by it. I just want to know what's so fascinating about it, that's all."

The Shadow watched as Herbert subtly moved his hand to the pistol he always carried with him, and for a brief second, it wondered if he was actually going to shoot Amar. Would he really go that far to keep his claim on something that wasn't meant for him in the first place? Out of habit, it shifted a little bit, causing a slightly stronger wind to blow around the tent as both men flinched.

"W-what was that?" Amar stammered as a sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Just the wind, Amar," Herbert sighed, taking his hand off the pistol, "You know how the desert can be at this time. No need to be frightened."

But the younger man wasn't convinced, after everything the group had been through over the past few days. "Right," he whispered in a skeptical tone of voice, "Just the wind…"

At least Herbert had been distracted long enough not to kill one of his men. The Guardian was relieved to see that, but the professor was not off the hook yet. He still hadn't heeded the warnings given to him, and it knew it was going to have to turn to more drastic measures.

* * *

After turning away from the tent, the Shadow made its way a little further into the desert, where it spotted Salim and his group patrolling the area. They all looked scared of the surrounding darkness, but they knew they had to keep going, unaware of what they were about to walk into.

The cosmic guardian may have been a patient being, but it also had no qualms about doing whatever it had to in order to maintain the balance of the universe. With that in mind, it quietly snuck up to the group, blowing out the torch Salim was carrying. The others stopped in their tracks, looking around wildly as if they were expecting someone to appear out of nowhere. "Who…who's there?" one of them whispered.

"Nobody," Salim reassured him, reaching for a tinderbox in order to light it again, "Nobody else is here but us."

But just as he lit the torch, the Shadow put it out again, along with everyone else's, which made their hearts beat even faster now. If they didn't think there was some sort of strange presence around them before, they did now. "I don't like this, Salim," a man in the back whimpered as he touched his broken nose, "Can we _please_ go back? It's getting awfully cold out here."

Salim couldn't help but shiver as soon as his friend said that, and nodding, he gestured to the rest of the group to turn around and head back to camp. Although he tried to remain calm and composed, the Shadow could tell he was terrified out of his mind. Most humans appeared to react that way around it, even though they didn't know what exactly they were afraid of.

While it waited for the right moment to strike, it watched as the group huddled closer together, not even bothering to light their torches or lanterns out of fear that something would blow them out again. Instead, they felt their way through the dark, relying on Salim, as well as the faint moonlight above them, to get them back to camp in one piece.

"You know," the same man from before spoke up with a nervous chuckle, "The longer we stay out here with Herbert, the more I'm beginning to miss Daniel. He wouldn't have forced us to patrol like this. _And _he apologized for the incident from a few days ago."

The Shadow bristled at the mention of the man carrying the pieces of the other Orb, and it briefly wondered if he had managed to make it to Algiers yet.

"Not me," another man disagreed, his voice scratchy from all the yelling and screaming he had done for the past few days, "He still made us go inside that first burial chamber. Rescuing him was extremely dangerous, and he could have killed himself and us." He closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Besides," he continued, "I doubt he would have stood up to Herbert if he saw how his boss was treating us. He seems the type to let other people take advantage of him and push him around."

While they continued to debate over Daniel's character, the Guardian took in everything they said, a wave of anxiety coursing through it. The last thing it wanted was to hear that one of its latest Orb carriers might be a pushover, which only added to the fact that it was already worried about someone being able to easily influence Daniel to abuse the artifact's power. He was the youngest person on record to find an Orb, and unfortunately hadn't really gotten to experience life yet. All the more reason for the entity to follow him and make sure he stayed on the straight and narrow path.

The Shadow didn't allow itself to think as it immediately rushed over to the man who had started this whole conversation, silently passing through him as he began to scream. The others froze where they were, whirling around as he clutched his chest, tears pooling in his eyes from the excruciating pain. "_Malik!_" Salim gasped, running over to him to try and see what was wrong, but the Shadow wasn't quite finished yet.

"Salim!" Malik cried, feeling like something was trying to tear him apart from the inside, "Help me!"

Salim reached out to grab him by his arm, and ended up recoiling a few seconds later: his skin felt like it was on fire! Yelping, he yanked his hand away and massaged it, panicking as he tried to figure out what to do now.

"Malik!" he shouted, "Malik, look at me! Stay with me, all right? You're going to be fine!"

But Malik ignored him as he tried not to throw up, extending his hand to grab Salim's arm and steady himself. He was in so much pain that he couldn't even tell the others what was wrong as the Shadow switched to compressing his chest as tightly as it could. Warmth spread through its very being, which it could only assume was coming from Malik as it literally squeezed the life out of him and continued to increase his body temperature.

"What do we do?" one of the other men yelled.

"Go back to camp and get help!" Salim ordered, "I'll stay with him!"

At first, nobody moved, which put Salim on edge even more than he already was. "_Go!_" he snapped, and flinching, the other three immediately complied, doing their best to block out the strangled noises Malik was making.

Salim took a deep breath and attempted to grab his friend's arm again, but just like before, he was still hot to the touch. This time, however, when he really took a good look at Malik, he saw exactly what was happening: his skin was bubbling over and covering his body in hideous boils!

"Please," Malik choked, "Make it stop…"

But for the first time in his life, Salim was at a loss for what to do. It took him all his self control not to scream in horror as his friend went through unimaginable pain, and he eventually had to look away as a horrible ripping noise reached his ears. He didn't dare open his eyes, for he was afraid of what he might see as Malik's voice eventually died down.

Silence fell over the area a few seconds later, and the Shadow released Malik's mangled body as it surveyed the damage: a pool of blood forming underneath him as his arms and legs lay next to the rest of him, his skin slightly flayed as well. It didn't feel anything as Salim finally gathered the courage to see what had happened to his friend, cursing, screaming, and crying as he knelt down next to him. It was an awful way to die, but once the Guardian of the Orb began resorting to murder, it showed no mercy.

As Salim continued to scream, the Shadow roared loudly at him, shaking the ground and causing the young man to gasp and leap to his feet again. He whipped his head around, his eyes wide as he tried to figure out where that sound had come from, his heart pounding wildly in his chest. For a brief second, he wondered if that was the same growl Herbert had heard a few nights ago.

The Guardian didn't give him much time to ponder over this. Once it saw that Salim had turned to run back to the camp, it quickly grabbed the man by his ankle, bringing him crashing to the ground as it loomed over him, flipping him onto his back. "No!" Salim cried, "_No!_" He snatched up some sand that was next to him and blindly hurled it in the Shadow's direction, but the Guardian threw it right back in his face, blinding him for a second as he coughed and sputtered. The cosmic being roared again, continuing to tower over Salim as he cowered where he was.

"P-please!" he stammered, "Let me go! Whatever you are, have mercy on me!"

If the Guardian had a head, it would have shaken it. It had seen this kind of begging before, and it was always amazed at how humans could be so ready to plead for their lives. Most of the time when this happened, it was at a point where it was beyond listening to reason, just like now.

And with that, it let out another ear-piercing shriek, inching closer to Salim as he, too, began to scream even louder than before.

But unlike with Malik, nobody heard his final cry for help.

* * *

"Abdullah! Abdullah!"

Abdullah glanced up from his book in alarm as one of the men who had been sent to patrol barreled into the tent, covered in blood and shaking from head to toe.

"What is it, Ahmed?" he asked, "What happened?"

"Come quick!" Ahmed cried, "Malik, Salim, and the others…" He trailed off, hugging himself as he rocked back and forth on his feet. He was so traumatized from what he had just been through that he couldn't even finish his sentence, feeling as if he was about to completely lose his mind.

"It's all right, Ahmed," Abdullah whispered, "You're safe now. Here, let's clean this blood off you." He carefully sat the other man down, reaching for a cloth and wiping away the dark red liquid on Ahmed's face, being careful not to irritate his still healing nose. He had to admit he was afraid to ask anymore questions, but he knew at least one of them needed to remain calm.

"We were patrolling…like Herbert asked us to," Ahmed explained, his voice shaking as he avoided eye contact with Abdullah, "And something…something attacked us!"

Abdullah suddenly had a bad feeling in his gut, and he clutched the cloth in his hands as he asked, "What was it?"

"W-we couldn't see it! It was too dark, but it went after Malik first! Salim told us to run, and…and…" He dissolved into tears, burying his face in his hands as he tried to block out the memories of seeing the other two men murdered right in front of him. He still wasn't sure how he managed to escape, but he wished he had been killed along with the others just so that he wouldn't have to think about the horrifying noises that had accompanied the screaming.

"I'll go tell Herbert," Abdullah offered, helping Ahmed climb onto a cot and throwing him a change of clothes, "You just wait here and get some rest. Everything will be fine. I promise." He knew things wouldn't be all right. Not after what might have happened, but he still thought it would be good to attempt to comfort his distraught friend.

Once Abdullah had alerted Herbert about what was going on, the two of them hurried to grab their lanterns as they sprinted in the direction Ahmed had just come from, and it wasn't long before they found the bodies of two of the men that had left with Salim. Herbert couldn't help but curse out loud as he quickly looked away from the bloody heaps in front of him, trying not to imagine what could have killed them. He felt sick to the stomach just _looking _at the various body parts, and slightly guilty for the way he had treated the men throughout the entire expedition, but most of all, he was confused. How could this have happened? _Why _was it happening?

"Malik and Salim are still out there," Abdullah pointed out, staring into the darkness as he tried not to let his horror show on his face, "We need to find them."

Herbert didn't reply right away, his gaze still fixed on the ground in shock. "Herbert?" Abdullah asked.

"Yes, of course," the professor replied, blinking, "We'll begin the search at sunrise."

Abdullah's mouth dropped open. "Sunrise?" he echoed, "We can't wait that long! Whatever killed these two might still be out there!"

"Which is why we need to wait," Herbert responded forcefully, "I will not risk losing anyone else in our group." He took a deep breath, doing his best to avoid the outraged expression on Abdullah's face. He felt guilty again, but it still wasn't enough to make him change his mind.

"Malik and Salim are some of the strongest men in the expedition. They've lived in this desert their whole lives, and I'm certain they can fend for themselves until we find them."

Before Abdullah could protest any further, Herbert turned and hurried back to his tent, leaving the younger man to sigh sadly as he glanced at the two men lying at his feet. In a way, he could understand his boss's decision, but that didn't mean he was all right with it. Part of him wanted to just stand there and yell at the top of his lungs; with everyone else spiraling into insanity, and Herbert becoming increasingly apathetic towards their situation, he was the only one who was trying to stay calm and level-headed.

And he had to admit it was exhausting.

Out of nowhere, he felt a chill go down his spine, but something inside him told him that it wasn't the normal nighttime breeze. He turned towards the vast desert in front of him, folding his hands as he took a few cautious steps forward, wondering if the low, distant growl he suddenly heard was real or in his imagination. It wasn't like anything he had ever heard before-he didn't think it even sounded human-and it was in that moment that the wheels began turning in his head.

Ever since Herbert had taken the Orb out of the Tomb of Tin Hanan, all these bad things had been happening around them. First, there was the ghost's wind, and now four of their men were mysteriously missing and/or dying in brutal ways. Ahmed had said the previous day that he thought they had incurred the wrath of something, and Abdullah was now inclined to believe him.

With a sigh, he turned around and carefully made his way back to camp. Along the way, he made sure to cover the bodies of the two men who hadn't been as fortunate as Ahmed.

And all the while, the Shadow simply watched him until he became no more than a speck in the distance.

* * *

It took a while for Herbert to fall asleep after the commotion from a few hours ago, but once he did, he found himself trapped in the same pitch black void from the previous night. He didn't like this place at all, and although he had occasionally given Daniel a hard time because of his fear of the dark, he was now beginning to see why the younger man hated it so much. He tried to wake up, but found that he couldn't, almost as if something was _keeping _him trapped here, just like the other night.

"_I warned you not to make me visit you again, Herbert,_" the same frightening, metallic voice whispered, "_Now you see what happens when you ignore my words._"

Something deep down in Herbert's gut told him that this mysterious voice was the one responsible for the deaths of his men, but he refused to believe it. He was still convinced that the others' superstitions in his waking life were influencing his dreams, and he vigorously shook his head.

"I do not have to listen to _you_," he hissed, "You're not real!"

Suddenly, he felt something cold and invisible close around his neck, and he gasped as he felt his throat constrict and prevent him from breathing properly. He thrashed about, trying to pry whatever it was off his neck, but the same shrieking from last night made him freeze where he was. Eventually, the mysterious being let go, causing him to drop to the ground as he took deep breaths.

"_Do not be so quick to dismiss me,_" the voice warned, "_My patience with you is wearing thin._"

And with that, the dream abruptly ended, leaving Herbert shaking as he woke up the next morning. He pulled the covers all the way up to his chin, wishing that he was in an actual bed back in London instead of a cot in the middle of the desert, especially if his gut instinct was right and there really _was _some kind of otherworldly presence around them.

But the expedition couldn't end. Not yet. There was still the matter of finding Malik and Salim-provided they had even made it through the night-as well as finding a way to restore order. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was how quickly the camp had descended into chaos, and he had nobody to blame but the men he had hired to travel with him.

Suddenly, Herbert shuddered, and a wave of sickness hit him as he suddenly had the feeling that something was wrong. Throwing the covers off once more, Herbert hurriedly leaped out of the cot, putting on his jacket as he went to look for the Orb. From outside, the Guardian watched him tear everything apart, pushing makeshift nightstands out of his way, flipping cots upside down, and tossing clothes into the sand. It had never seen anybody get this agitated over one of its relics before, and all it could do was watch as Herbert clenched his fists and cursed at the fact that the Orb had gone missing.

"But that's not possible," he mumbled to himself, "I always keep it with me! Who could have entered the tent and taken it?"

The Shadow expanded its senses until the Arab men entered its view, and right now, it could see all of them congregated in the other large tent as Ahmed clutched the Orb in his hands. They were all speaking in hushed tones, so unfortunately the entity couldn't hear everything, but the snippets it did catch made it realize something.

Perhaps they were going to try and give it back! Ahmed must have somehow been able to sneak into Herbert's tent to steal it!

The Shadow couldn't help but feel disappointed at that. While it greatly appreciated their efforts, it still didn't think they should have had to go to these lengths. _Herbert _was the one who had taken the relic, and _he _should have been the one to return it to its rightful owner. The fact that he didn't seem like he cared about any of this, and that _other people _were trying to correct _his _mistake only made the cosmic guardian resent him even more.

Eventually, Herbert must have caught on to this as well, for he grabbed his pistol, loaded it, and stormed out of the tent, marching over to the other one as he shielded his eyes from the morning sun. The Guardian had to admit it was a little nervous; it hadn't taken long for the Englishman to lose his mind over the Orb, and it remained on edge as he burst into the tent and startled the others.

"Give that back _now_," he ordered, causing both Abdullah and Ahmed to turn pale as they came face to face with their boss.

"Professor!" Ahmed gasped, "When did you wake up?"

"That's not the point," the professor responded, "What did you think you were going to do with _my _Orb?"

"Throw it away," Abdullah answered almost immediately, despite the fact that he was now scared out of his mind, "We have to, Herbert! Whatever killed the others last night might be connected to it!"

"There's no need for that! I already know who's responsible for those murders."

The Guardian paused, wondering if this was the moment when Herbert would admit to his mistake and take responsibility for his actions. After its visit to him during the night, it hoped that he would put two and two together and finally surrender.

When none of the others said anything else, the professor continued. "I always knew your lot was a bunch of animals," he said coldly, "I suppose living in the desert would cause that to happen. It's really no surprise that you all would look for any way to end my expedition, and resort to such barbaric methods on top of that."

"What do you mean?" Amar piped up from his cot, taking offense to being called an _animal_.

"I think you know very well what I'm trying to say, Amar."

Outside the tent, the Shadow growled quietly, its intense anger returning tenfold, and at the same time, Abdullah understood the implications his boss was trying to make.

"You can't possibly be blaming us for what happened!" he spat, "We had nothing to do with it!"

"Then why was Ahmed the only one who returned?" Herbert challenged, "Covered in blood, nonetheless? He was always one of the more superstitious ones and you know it. His rambling about the desert taking those men could have been him covering his tracks. He could have killed Malik and Salim!"

"That's not true!" Ahmed yelled, immediately jumping on the defense after being forced to remember what had happened to his friends the previous night.

"It is," Herbert insisted, "I know murder when I see it. Now, hand over the Orb so that we may continue on with _my _expedition."

The Shadow grew even angrier, causing the tent to shake violently. How dare Herbert accuse his own men of murder? It wanted to shout at him to stop being selfish and _listen to the others_, but unfortunately, the only place it could "talk" was in nightmares.

"No," Ahmed replied, holding the Orb even tighter as he backed away from the professor.

A few seconds later, this proved to be a huge mistake.

Before the Guardian could make a move, Herbert lunged towards the younger man and briefly struggled with him, fighting to take back the Orb he had found. Abdullah and Amar attempted to intervene, only to be pushed out of the way as they crashed to the ground. Ahmed was still weak from last night's incident, which made it easier for Herbert to yank the artifact out of his grasp, but it didn't end there.

Once he knew the Orb was secure, Herbert set it down on the ground, grabbed his pistol, and aimed it at Ahmed's chest.

"_NO_!" Abdullah screamed as the sound of gunfire made his ears ring, and he had to look away as he felt a little bit of blood splatter onto his face. Amar yelped and leaped up from his cot to move out of Ahmed's way as he fell, and the others just stood in shock, unable to process what had just happened. A horrified silence fell over the tent, and even outside where the Shadow had witnessed the entire incident. If it wasn't enraged before, it was even more furious now as it roared, sending an even harsher wind blowing across the tent as it caused a mini sand storm to occur.

Inside, Herbert slowly lowered his pistol, briefly paralyzed as the full weight of what he had done began to sink in. He had never killed a man before, and never thought he would be capable of such an act. Remorse coursed through him, but he refused to let it show on his face.

Next to him, he could hear Abdullah panting as he attempted to collect himself again. "You…you just…" he stammered, breaking the silence, "You just…"

"Yes," Herbert answered, trying his best to stop his voice from shaking, "I did. Let that be a lesson to the rest of you. Anyone else who attempts to steal my Orb will meet the same fate as Ahmed. Is that clear?"

Nobody was in the mood to defy him after what they had just seen, so they all nodded as they glanced down at the ground. The sand storm outside quieted down as well as the Shadow felt some of its anger subside, though not by that much.

"Abdullah," Herbert continued in a slightly sharper tone, "Take one of the camels and go alert the French authorities in Algiers about what has happened here. I will not tolerate such violence in my expedition."

All Abdullah could do was shake his head in disgust as he turned and exited the tent. He had no words for any of this, or at least none that could be said out loud. For Herbert to value an ancient artifact over a man's life…it was just wrong. This whole expedition was wrong from the start, and he was sorry he had signed up for it.

And although he packed his bag, retrieved the camel he always used for transport, and left the camp a few hours later, he had no idea that things were about to get a lot worse for the rest of the group.

* * *

Two days had passed since Herbert shot Ahmed and Abdullah left for Algiers, but things did not seem to be looking up in the slightest. The Shadow could see from a distance that the others were still on edge, unable to sleep and forget about the horrors they had been subjected to. Several times, they suspected that Herbert knew more about the Orb than he was letting on, but they didn't dare ask him about it out of fear that they would be shot next. It didn't help that the professor always kept the relic covered, either.

Herbert continued to lay on his cot, just staring blankly at the wall as he listened to the wind outside. His hands shook and his head pounded as did his best to forget about his awful dreams from the past few nights. They were plagued with the same void and inhuman shrieks that seemed to appear out of nowhere, and deep down, he wondered if the others' superstitions rang true after all. Whatever they might have awakened in the tombs, it was definitely not friendly, and it seemed to be taking every opportunity to haunt him with the memory of Ahmed's death.

Pushing himself up, Herbert reached for his journal, the only thing helping him to remain somewhat sane throughout all this. Opening it to the next blank page, he took a deep breath and began to write in it, documenting the contents of his dreams that made him never want to go to sleep again.

_That thing is after me. It has been hunting me for days. But I keep out of its trail, so I will persevere. I can see a settlement at the edge of the desert. I'm getting closer. I can see it. But it is not me, it is Abdullah. Through his eyes I see, his mind I hear. Confined to myself, I see only death dressed in the Orb's darkest shadow._

The marks the Guardian had left on all of them were even stronger now, indicating that the grace period had ended. No more waiting around to see what Herbert do. The Shadow was going to reclaim the Orb _now_, with no apologies. Even though it couldn't see the artifact well because of the cloth, that wasn't going to stop it by any means.

Abdullah had managed to escape it, but it decided it would deal with him later. Right now, it had a job to do as nighttime arrived, allowing its powers to reach their full potential. With a roar, it headed for the camp site, ripping tents out of the ground and overturning cots as the men screamed and ran for cover. Anyone that was too slow met his end in the same way Malik, Salim, and the others had, only this time, even the bodies ended up disappearing, leaving no sign that anybody had been there.

Herbert glanced up in alarm as the flaps to his tent flew open, knocking everything to the side as the entity headed straight for him. Snatching the Orb and the cloth covering it, he fled the scene, ignoring Amar's strangled cries from one of the other tents. He felt terrible for leaving the others behind, but at this point, it was every man for himself. He ran past the area where Abdullah had covered the other two bodies, and in horror, noticed that neither of them were there anymore. Had the Shadow…_consumed _them? Had it consumed Malik and Salim as well? He had become so preoccupied with everything else that he hadn't bothered to look for them, but they were dead. He was sure of it.

That was something he didn't want to think about.

Meanwhile, the Guardian realized Herbert had escaped the camp and began to give chase, its footsteps sending out shockwaves as grains of sand filled the air. Nobody was left, allowing the being to shift all its focus to its main target. The professor glanced over his shoulder a couple of times, hoping to get a glimpse of whatever was pursuing him, but he couldn't see anything, which made him panic even more. To him, there was nothing more frightening than being chased by something invisible.

He tripped and fell a few times, desperately rushing to pick himself up again as the Shadow's footsteps grew louder and angrier. _Run, Herbert! _He screamed at himself, _Run, run, run! Don't look back!_ Along the way, his legs began to grow tired, his muscles crying out in pain, but he ignored them. Escaping was the only thing on his mind, and when he managed to glance over his shoulder again, he couldn't even see the camp anymore. He realized he must have run pretty far, but now he was alone, and even worse, he was alone with an angry cosmic entity.

The Guardian was closing in on him now, determined to catch him like it had caught all the others. Unlike humans, it never ran out of energy, which it used to narrow the distance between it and its prey.

Up ahead, Herbert finally collapsed in the sand, unable to run anymore without his legs burning, so he attempted to crawl away instead. He maintained his grip on the Orb, resting his cheek on the cool surface as he tried not to concentrate on the fact that the Shadow's roar was getting louder. He closed his eyes as he had a flashback to the day he and Daniel had arrived in Algeria, gathering their men before leading the caravan into the desert. He remembered how excited Daniel had been to be a part of such an enriching experience, and how disappointed he had been when Herbert forced him to return to England.

_Daniel, _he thought, feeling another stab of guilt as the Guardian continued to approach him. He considered how persistent it was about taking back the Orb, and another horrifying thought entered his mind.

_I've doomed him! By sending him away with the other pieces, I've marked him for death! Just like the rest of us! _

"I'm sorry, Daniel," he apologized out loud in such a scratchy voice that he didn't even recognize it, "I'm so sorry. Please…forgive me…"

And with that, the last thing he saw before everything faded to black was the mysterious Orb disappearing into thin air. As he felt his senses begin to fade, the last thing he heard was the same, nightmarish voice from his dreams.

"_Thank you, Herbert_."

* * *

**END OF PART ONE**


	5. II - Hypnotized

Okay! This will probably end up being my last update of 2013. Can you believe it's going to be a new year soon? I can't. It feels like time is flying! Anyway, thank you again to everyone who is showing their support for this story, and here's the next chapter! :D

**GUEST REVIEW CORNER:**

**Soto- **Thank you for your review! :) I've been having fun writing it and I'm glad that you've been enjoying it! As for your reply, those are good points, too. I think anything is possible, so you could be onto something. It could have been a mistake on the game's part, though. Or if they lived somewhere else, maybe Hazel's parents found Canterbury to be cheaper and decided to send her there, even if it's a little far. I think a lot of people (myself included) thought that Daniel grew up in Mayfair, because I've seen other stories that say the same thing. Either way, he definitely lives there as an adult since he said so right at the beginning of the game. What do you think? I enjoy reading other people's theories and ideas. :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only any minor OCs that show up in the story are mine. Everything else belongs to Frictional Games.

* * *

**PART TWO**

The silence that followed a murder was always unsettling, even for the Guardian of the Orbs.

There were no traces of Herbert in the sand where he had been uttering apologies that would never be heard, and there were no signs of the Orb he had been carrying, either. The Shadow quietly sighed with relief as it decided not to return the relic to the Tomb of Tin Hanan, just to make sure nobody ever tried to take it again.

Still, it couldn't help but feel pity for Herbert, that he couldn't overcome his greed and selfishness to see the error of his ways. On the plus side, at least he would no longer be a threat to Daniel.

Daniel. The Guardian let out another sigh, causing the sand around it to swirl in the wind as its focus returned to the young archaeologist. Now that one of its Orbs had been taken care of, it was time to check on the other one. Sure enough, it saw that the pieces were still tightly packed in Daniel's bag, clattering against each other as they rocked back and forth in an undulating motion. In fact, the whole bag seemed to be moving that way, and when it pulled back its vision a little bit, it could see that all the archaeologist's belongings were in some kind of cabin. The distant sound of water splashing accompanied it, and the Shadow quickly deduced that Daniel must have been on a ship headed for England.

Remembering its original plan to simply follow him without giving chase, it began to make its way back towards Algiers, passing by the now silent camp where it had killed the rest of Herbert's men. Unlike the past few days, its movement was once again very sluggish, choosing to take its time as it knew that Daniel had nowhere to go right now. It didn't matter how long it took; it would catch up to him at any rate.

Along the way, the Guardian took note of a path of footprints in the sand, though they didn't appear to be those of a human. Perhaps they belonged to a camel? That would make more sense considering all the camels Herbert and his men had used for transportation. Its curiosity piqued, it made it a point to follow the trail, traveling for quite some distance until it spotted two specks up ahead: one that looked human and the other that resembled a camel.

Abdullah. It had to be him. Herbert had ordered him to return to Algiers to report to the French authorities, and the Shadow couldn't see anybody else in its current field of vision. Quickening its pace, it began to move a little bit faster again in order to catch up with the young man and swiftly take care of him before its powers weakened for the day.

Meanwhile, Abdullah, unaware of the cosmic entity sneaking up on him from behind, shielded his eyes from the rising sun as he continued to make his way towards Algiers. He was nearly there now, but every minute of his journey left his stomach in knots as he wondered how his friends were faring back at the camp site. No matter how hard he tried, he could not get the image of Herbert shooting Ahmed out of his head, or the one of the two bodies he had covered. There were a few times while he was resting that he ended up just sitting in the sand and crying his eyes out, releasing any pent up frustration, anger, and confusion that he had. He grimly acknowledged to himself that he no longer had to be a calming force for someone else, now that he was alone.

He just wished that someone was here to comfort him in the same way.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, his camel began to sniff the air around them, tilting its head towards the sky as it whined frantically. Abdullah immediately stopped crying and glanced up, having learned to trust the animals around him a little more. Barring the restlessness they had felt throughout their stay at the camp, the last time the camels behaved like this was right before the incident with the ghost's wind.

Sure enough, when Abdullah looked over his shoulder, he spotted mini whirlwinds of sand that appeared to be heading straight for him. Gasping, he quickly climbed back onto the camel and made a run for it, hoping to outrun the storm and make it back to Algiers in one piece. He had come too far just to die like this, and the only thing on his mind was survival.

The Guardian continued to chase him, picking up its pace whenever it felt like the young man was getting a little too far ahead of it. The ground shook as it used its footsteps to quickly close the distance between itself and Abdullah, the skies darkening around them as it seemed to grow even bigger in size. It didn't have a physical form, but it was still able to expand itself to cover large areas.

Once it was close enough to Abdullah, the Shadow swiped at his back, knocking him off his camel as he tumbled in the sand. The frightened animal took off into the desert, leaving its rider at the mercy of the cosmic guardian as it loomed over him. Abdullah winced as he felt blood leak out of the wounds on his back, and his skin burned as he attempted to pick himself up again. Just as he managed to get himself on his feet, the Shadow knocked him down again, flipping him onto his back as it clawed at his face, nearly blinding him in his left eye. Over time, the injuries resembled those from a lion attack, but the entity didn't care as it swooped in for the kill, wrapping itself around Abdullah's chest.

"No!" he cried, struggling to break free as he felt something begin to squeeze his rib cage, "No, no, no! Not like this! Please…not like this!" Tears leaked from his eyes as he continued to feel like he was being crushed, and he hoped that whatever was attacking him would just kill him and be done with it. He wasn't sure why he was begging, seeing as this mysterious being didn't seem to be all that merciful, but all he could do was try.

The Shadow listened to his pleas, keeping its grip on him as he continued to scream and cry in pain. For some reason, it was suddenly having a hard time finishing the job, pausing as it reflected on everything Abdullah had done over the last week. When the others had begun to lose their minds, he had been the glue trying to keep the group together. Whenever Herbert was in over his head about the Orb, Abdullah had been the one to try and bring him back to reality. He was the most vocal about nearly everything, from how they shouldn't have disturbed the tombs to calling him out on being more concerned about the relic than the other men. If it hadn't been for him, the Guardian might have wiped out the entire expedition much sooner, and it was because of him that they had lasted for as long as they did. He had put in the most effort to try and figure out how exactly the Orb and the mysterious murders were connected, and the Shadow wouldn't have been surprised if Abdullah turned out to be the one to help Ahmed attempt to steal the artifact back.

It was on these grounds that it decided to spare the young man, loosening its grip on his chest as it knocked him unconscious. He collapsed into the sand, but the entity could still hear him breathing steadily as it picked him up and carried him in the wind. This reminded it of another long chase from centuries ago, but it forced itself not to think about that as it carefully transported Abdullah back to Algiers.

Once it got there, it took great care to make sure nobody else spotted a random man flying in the air, and after studying him for a few seconds, the Guardian was able to figure out where he lived. Once it found his house on a quiet side street, it gently placed him on the ground, banging on the door before pulling away to watch the unfolding scene.

A minute later, a girl who looked to be in her early teens opened the door, gasping at the sight in front of her. "Papa!" she cried, throwing her arms around him just as her mother raced forward to join them. She frantically knelt down next to Abdullah, realized he was still breathing, and grabbed him by the arms to lift him up. She spoke in such a quiet voice that the Shadow couldn't hear what she was saying, but by the way she gestured to her daughter, it could only assume that she was telling her to fetch the French police.

The entity watched the girl take off down the street, and knowing its work here was finished, it retreated to the desert in order to recuperate before traveling any further. It decided it would wait until nightfall, now that nothing was standing in the way of it and the other Orb.

* * *

_**A few weeks later…**_

Daniel loved the smell of the ocean.

The young archaeologist took a deep breath as he stepped onto the starboard deck of the SS_ Hortensia_, glancing around as he allowed the breeze to ruffle his hair. The water splashed against the hull of the ship, sending a little bit of sea spray in his direction as he tasted a pinch of salt on his tongue. The environment was much cooler than in Algeria, and Daniel welcomed the change. While he still didn't feel right about leaving the expedition so soon, he figured that maybe Herbert had made the right decision after all. He felt better than he had when he was still staying in Algiers or even when he boarded the small sailboat to Gibraltar, as he was able to get some really good sleep on this voyage so far. Here, he knew there wouldn't be anymore delays, and soon, he'd be back home. He couldn't wait to make that trip to Canterbury to see his sister, Hazel, again, though he wasn't sure what he was going to tell her. She'd definitely be surprised to see him back so soon.

"Breakfast is ready in the dining hall if you're hungry."

Daniel glanced over his shoulder as Captain Moore addressed him, clasping his hands behind his back as he, too, fixed his gaze on the Atlantic.

"Thank you," Daniel replied, "I think I'll go have something in a few minutes."

"Good," the captain said, "I always do my best to make sure my passengers are well looked after."

Daniel smiled. There was a friendly air about Moore that he never saw with Herbert, and just knowing that there was at least one person looking out for him on the _Hortensia _allowed him to feel safe. For most of his life, he had been the one looking out for someone else.

Captain Moore nodded and turned towards the stern of the ship, watching the waves slowly ebb away as the winds died down as well. "Hmm," he mumbled, "That's odd."

"What?" Daniel asked, the calmness he was feeling starting to disappear, "What is it?"

The captain ignored him as he walked along the deck until he was at the very edge of the _Hortensia_, the archaeologist following behind him as they rested on the railing and studied the ocean behind them.

"I've never seen the water this still before," he pointed out as he frowned, "I'll have to alert my crew about this."

"Is there a storm approaching?" Daniel questioned, a small sweat beginning to break out on his forehead.

"That's a possibility," Moore said, "But I can't say for sure. There's something different about these conditions, though. Something I can't quite put my finger on."

Daniel shivered, pulling his coat a little tighter around himself as he moved away from the railing. He had heard of hurricanes hitting ships before, and suddenly, he was worried that one was going to cause the _Hortensia _to sink. "I think I'm going to go have something to eat now," he decided.

"All right," the Captain said, "I'm sorry if I frightened you just now. Try not to think about the ocean too much, though. I'm certain everything will turn out for the best."

All Daniel could do was smile and nod politely as he made his way over to the dining hall, hoping that food would take his mind off his anxiety. He trusted the ship's crew, and knew deep down that they would do everything they could to make sure the passengers were safe.

Still, he couldn't shake the nagging suspicion that something was on its way.

* * *

_**Later that day…**_

Even though the day was now nearing twilight, that didn't stop Daniel from turning in early, changing into his pajamas and climbing into bed. He had been traveling at sea for so long that the rocking of the ship no longer bothered him, and he was able to fall asleep pretty quickly. Before returning to his room, he had helped himself to a light supper and a cup of tea, and he could still feel the warmth of the drink in his body as he settled down to rest. Although he knew it usually wasn't a good idea to sleep on a full stomach, he couldn't help feeling so tired.

His peaceful sleep didn't last very long, however. About half an hour after he closed his eyes, he suddenly felt restless, tossing and turning to get more comfortable. It was the same way he had felt when he was still in the desert, and he couldn't help but curse himself for piling up on food right before laying down. He began to sweat again, forcing him to lower the covers in order to cool off.

And then, out of nowhere, he could have sworn he heard an unfamiliar voice calling out to him.

"_Daniel…_" it whispered so softly that he almost didn't catch it, though it sent a chill down his spine for some reason. He flipped onto his side, covering his exposed ear with one of the other pillows to block out any extra noise.

"_Daniel…_" the voice repeated a little louder, as if the owner was standing right next to him and had removed the pillow. Daniel stirred, leaning on his other side as a whooshing noise now reached his ears.

With great effort, he opened his eyes once more, still half asleep as he noticed that the door to his cabin was ajar somehow. It felt heavier to him as he tried to push it shut, but before he could, he suddenly picked up on the fact that an unusually warm breeze was now blowing through the hallway from another open door.

For the last few weeks, he had endured the coldness emanating from the Atlantic, and the warmth reminded him of his time in the desert. He wasn't sure if he was dreaming or not, but he lumbered out of his room and followed the trail, hoping to find out where it was coming from.

Daniel slowly climbed up the stairs at the end of the hallway, the fact that he was returning to the deck not really registering as he pushed the door open and stepped outside. He stumbled a little bit, but managed to grab onto the railing to steady himself. The invisible trail seemed to direct him towards the stern of the ship, so continuing to hold on as tightly as he could, he staggered in that direction. _Almost there, _he thought, letting go of the railing so that he could grab onto the pole that was currently flying the British flag.

Unfortunately, that was the moment when something large bumped into the _Hortensia's _hull, the force pitching the archaeologist off the stern and straight into the Atlantic Ocean.

Daniel crashed into the water with a loud _bang_, immediately feeling more awake as he began to sink. His skin felt like pins and needles, like somebody had stuck him in a freezer and left him in there for days, and he glanced up as the light of the sunset continued to grow more and more distant. Panicking, he held his breath for as long as he could and kicked up to the surface, trying to keep his eyes open so that he could see where he was going.

To his relief, he managed to resurface, coughing and sputtering as he shook his hair out of his eyes. On the down side, he realized he was now stranded in the middle of the ocean, the _Hortensia _continuing on its way as if nothing had happened. Hadn't Captain Moore promised him that nothing would go wrong on this voyage? Why hadn't he noticed someone had fallen overboard? _How _had he even ended up in the Atlantic, anyway?

"Help!" Daniel yelled as loudly as possible, a wave of seawater entering his mouth as he coughed again to get rid of the pungent taste. He struggled to swim towards the _Hortensia_, deciding that perhaps a crew member would see him if he was a little bit closer.

Judging by the comments Herbert's men had made about Daniel, the Shadow hadn't expected him to put up a fight, and it had to admit it was both surprised and impressed at the way he was attempting to swim away from the current. It didn't matter, though; it wasn't going to let him leave just yet. Not when it had finally caught up to him after lagging behind him for weeks.

"Captain Moore! Anybody! _Help_!" Daniel cried for a second time in an even louder voice, but before he could wave his hands in the air, the Guardian darted through the water and grabbed him by the ankle, violently yanking him backwards as it let another wave wash over him. The archaeologist struggled to break free, but the more he tried to get away from this unseen beast, the more his body grew tired.

At the same time, the Shadow gave one final tug, pulling Daniel underwater again as he hurriedly held his breath. Water rumbled in his ears, and he felt as if his lungs were about to burst, but the cosmic guardian wouldn't let go. This was the first time it was really getting a good look at its latest Orb carrier, other than when it had watched him sleep in his tent, and if this was the only way it could study him, then so be it.

As it continued to hold him in place and watch him struggle, the Guardian suddenly witnessed quick flashes of images that it didn't recognize: a young boy striking his classmate with a rock, a broken jar on the floor in the basement, and the same boy being locked down there for hours in the pitch black as he screamed and cried. It also saw him kneeling by his bedroom window, wiping tears from his eyes as he prayed for a guardian angel. Someone to protect him and his sister from all the horrible people around them. It didn't take long for the entity to realize all these images must have been related to Daniel, as if it was looking straight into his heart and learning his secrets and deepest desires. It had never gotten this personal with any of the Orb carriers before, leaving it overwhelmed and at a loss for what to do now.

Daniel eventually stopped struggling, closing his eyes as he fainted and began to sink even further into the depths of the ocean, and acting quickly, the Shadow grabbed him and brought him back to the surface, making its way over to the _Hortensia _and placing him on the deck. He was soaking wet from head to toe, and it proceeded to dry him off with bursts of hot air, cleaning up the puddle beneath him so that nobody would slip and fall. Fortunately, the young man was still breathing, coughing to give himself some air as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Sir?"

The Shadow snapped to attention, quickly fleeing the scene and returning to the Atlantic as the new voice's owner noticed that Daniel was lying on the deck. He raced over to him, helping him to stand up as he continued to regain full consciousness. For some reason, he no longer felt like there was water in his lungs, which he briefly thought was odd.

"Sir, are you all right?"

Daniel rubbed his eyes, which were now stinging a little bit as he came face to face with the person addressing him. "C-captain Moore?" he choked, his voice raw from all the screaming he had just done.

"What are you doing on the deck like this?" Moore asked.

Daniel tilted his head to the side as he frowned. _Huh, _he thought, _That's strange. I was just nearly drowning! How'd I get back up here?_ "I…I fell off the ship a few minutes ago," he answered in a puzzled tone, "Straight into the ocean!"

Now _Moore _was the one who looked confused, shaking his head as he examined Daniel's current appearance. "You couldn't have," he said, skepticism creeping into his voice, "You're as dry as the desert."

Daniel felt dread creep into his stomach, but he ignored it as he fixed his gaze on the Captain. "But I did!" he insisted, "I was by the edge of the ship when something bumped into the hull and made me lose my balance! I was struggling in the water for a pretty long time, and I almost drowned! Didn't _any_ of you hear me calling for help? I wasn't that far away!"

The Shadow watched as Moore shook his head again. "No. I have a very vigilant crew, and they would have told me if someone fell overboard. I promise you, nobody heard or saw anything in the last few minutes." Daniel didn't say anything in response, clearly disappointed that the Captain didn't believe him, and the latter must have picked up on this.

"Perhaps you should return to your cabin and have a cup of tea. That might make you feel better."

Daniel just nodded and looked away, unwilling to discuss this matter any further and silently wishing Moore would go away. Eventually, he turned and headed in the opposite direction, leaving the archaeologist to watch the last bit of sun set over the horizon. He could have sworn he spotted the coast of Portugal not too far away, and he made sure to stand a good distance away from the railing as he fixed his gaze on that. No matter what anyone else said, he knew what had happened. _Something _very large and powerful had knocked him off the _Hortensia _and tried to drown him.

But why hadn't he died? How had he made it back to the deck completely dry? And more importantly, how had Moore and his crew remained calm and not noticed _anything_?

_Is this another dream? _Daniel thought as the ship passed Lisbon. That had to be the only explanation, and he preferred it over the other possibility that he was losing his mind. He had had some vivid dreams back in Algeria, but they were nothing like this, though a part of him was still convinced that this was reality.

From its place over the calm ocean, the Shadow watched him ponder over the latest events, relieved that things had gone smoothly enough without causing too much of a commotion. Only it and Daniel knew what really happened, and that was the way it should have been. It had gotten the information it wanted, though it hadn't expected to delve that deep into the man's past.

As it continued to keep its eye on the _Hortensia_, the Guardian reflected on the flashbacks it had experienced, zeroing in on the one of a young Daniel kneeling in prayer. It didn't know why that one struck a chord more than the others, but it realized that with the Orb pieces in his possession, he was going to need protection more than ever, at least until the cosmic being was able to figure out what his intentions were.

Like simply lagging behind a carrier, giving protection to one was something else the Shadow had never done before, either allowing them to keep the artifacts or reclaiming them. It wasn't called the Guardian of the Orbs for nothing, and with this new arrangement, it figured both it and Daniel would benefit. He would get the guardian angel he had always wanted, and it would be able to keep an eye on one of its Orbs and make sure its powers weren't being abused.

For the first time in weeks, the Shadow felt satisfied with its situation, and it was even willing to slightly change its ways to make sure everything went according to plan.

Unfortunately, because of the uniqueness of the situation, things would turn out to be much more complicated than expected.


End file.
